Category: Blogs

Counting Cultural Contribution

Post author By CreativeWomensAssociation
Post date January 15, 2026

Australia’s creative economy is already carrying significant economic weight, but much of that value remains unmeasured and unprotected. Without recognising domestic and care load, creative labour—particularly women’s—continues to subsidise the economy invisibly, resulting in systemic loss rather than shared wealth.

Tags Common Wealth, creative workforce, Creativity Index, Cultural Economy, Domestic and Care Load, gender economics, provenance, Unpaid Labour, Women’s Economic Participation, Workforce Policy

Across the Commonwealth

Post author By CreativeWomensAssociation
Post date January 13, 2026

Australia’s cultural labour has long powered industry, health, and community life—yet without provenance, its value leaks away. This article explores why recognising cultural contribution as trained labour, protected through provenance, is essential to building a resilient national economy.

Tags Common Wealth, Creative Economy, creative workforce, Cultural Infrastructure, Culture & Provenance, Manufacturing Capability, Public Interest Infrastructure, Regional Development, Sovereign Value, women’s labour

Art, Expression & Therapeutic Practices Blogs Creative Business & Leadership Creative Capital Creative Health & Wellbeing Creative Spark Creative Survival Creativity Economic Independence & Women's Enterprise Health In Real Life | IRL. Insight Intermission Play Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy Science & Research Smart News Social Prescribing, Creative Health & Community Care Sound, Voice & Music in Health Stories The Almanac The Architecture of Women's Health The Future of Women's Work: Creative, Economic & Cultural Power The Gazelle The Power Source: Women’s Mental, Sexual & Creative Health The Reading Shelf Wellness Women's Physiology, Anatomy & Cycles Work & Money

Provenance as Economic Infrastructure

Post author By CreativeWomensAssociation
Post date January 6, 2026

Employment in the Harris Tweed industry grew by 570% following the introduction of certification and protected provenance. This data-driven case study demonstrates how provenance operates as economic infrastructure, enabling workforce growth, regional stability, and long-term productivity in creative sectors.

Tags Applied Creative Intelligence, Certification, Creative Economy, creative labour, cultural industries policy, economic participation, Harris Tweed Authority, provenance, regional employment, Workforce Infrastructure

1969 Was Supposed to Change Everything.

Post author By CreativeWomensAssociation
Post date January 5, 2026

In 1969, Australia recognised equal pay for equal work. What never followed was the infrastructure to support women’s real working lives — particularly where creativity, care, and economic security intersect.

Tags 1969 Equal Pay Case, Creative Economy, Creative Women’s Association, creative workforce, Cultural Infrastructure, domestic care load, economic design, Superannuation Gap, Unpaid Labour, Women And Work, women’s work

Into 2026

Post author By CreativeWomensAssociation
Post date December 22, 2025

From creative practice to Creative Authority: how the Creative Women’s Association moved from grassroots creativity to national workforce reform in just three months, reshaping how Australia recognises creative labour, women’s work, and economic value.

Tags Applied Creative Intelligence, Arts & Provenance, Certification, creative authority, Creative Health, Creative Trades, Creative Women’s Association, creative workforce, provenance, Social Prescribing, Soft Infrastructure, Soft Systems Design, Women’s Economic Participation, Women’s Health, Workforce Reform

Creative Health Isn’t a Side Project.

Post author By CreativeWomensAssociation
Post date December 18, 2025

Creative health is not a small-grants sector — it is a missing economy. When women are supported to sustain caregiving and skilled creative labour through proper workforce infrastructure, billions in lost productivity and preventative health value can be unlocked.

Tags Arts Definition, Creative Economy, Creative Practice, Creative Women’s Association, creative workforce, Cultural Industries, Cultural Infrastructure, Cultural Labour, Economic Policy, Gender Equity, Practice vs Performance, provenance, Skill & Output, Skills & Certification, Textiles & Craft, Trades & Craft

Arts & Culture Blogs Creative Business & Leadership Creative Capital Creative Survival Creativity Economic Independence & Women's Enterprise Health Historical Contributions & Women's Science In Real Life | IRL. Innovation & Ideas Insight Intermission Legacy & History Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy Power & Privilege Smart News Stories The Almanac The Architecture of Women's Health The Future of Women's Work: Creative, Economic & Cultural Power The Gazelle The Reading Shelf Wellness Work & Money

When Did Art Stop Being a Trade

Post author By CreativeWomensAssociation
Post date December 17, 2025

What does “creative” actually mean — and when did art stop being a trade? This article explores how arts shifted from skilled, trade-based practices into performative spectacle, and how that transition reshaped value, labour, and women’s work in the creative economy.

Why We Built Trades for Boys

Post author By CreativeWomensAssociation
Post date December 16, 2025

Australia has spent decades building trade pathways for boys while leaving women’s creative labour without workforce infrastructure. This article examines why the creative economy emerged from women’s historical trades — textiles, design, and cultural production — and how the failure to formalise these as certified professions has created systemic economic insecurity for women.

Tags Creative Economy, Creative Women’s Association, creative workforce, Cultural Industries, Economic Policy, Gender Equity, provenance, Skills & Certification, Textiles & Craft, Unpaid Labour, Women’s Trades, Workforce Infrastructure

Blogs Creative Health & Wellbeing Creative Spark Creative Survival Field Notes, Observations & Case Studies Health In Real Life | IRL. Innovation & Ideas Insight Intermission Play Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy Smart News Stories The Almanac The Architecture of Women's Health The Future of Women's Work: Creative, Economic & Cultural Power The Reading Shelf Wellness

If Life Were Golf, Women Would Be Starting Four Suburbs Back

Post author By CreativeWomensAssociation
Post date December 2, 2025

A humorous, relatable exploration of the Domestic Load Handicap (DLH) — a new model that uses real-world data to measure the domestic and mental load carried by women. This piece reframes women’s overwhelm as a predictable structural outcome, not a personal weakness, highlighting how DLH can transform women’s health, economic security, and daily life.

Blogs Creative Health & Wellbeing

Toxic Beauty

Post author By CreativeWomensAssociation
Post date July 12, 2025

A searing critique of Toxic Beauty—the modern phenomenon where empowerment, self-compassion, and body positivity are weaponised to justify extremes. This article explores the collapse of common sense in beauty culture, drawing on research from Psychology Today, Verywell Mind, and the International Journal of Indian Psychology.

Tags Body Positivity, Common Sense, Culture Critique, CWA Lens, Emotional Suppression, Extremism in Wellness, IJIP, Integrity, Kendra Cherry, mental health, Moderation, Psychology Today, Self-Compassion, Self-Discipline, toxic beauty, Toxic Positivity, Verywell Mind, Wellness Culture